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AQUACULTURE
An International Journal

Guide for Authors

Submission of manuscripts

Types of contribution
Original Research Papers should report the results of original research. The material should not have been previously published elsewhere, except in a preliminary form.
Review Articles can cover either narrow disciplinary subjects or broad issues requiring interdisciplinary discussion. They should provide objective critical evaluation of a defined subject. Reviews should not consist solely of a summary of published data. Evaluation of the quality of existing data, the status of knowledge, and the research required to advance knowledge of the subject are essential.
Short Communications are used to communicate results which represent a major breakthrough or startling new discovery and which should therefore be published quickly. They should not be used for preliminary results. Papers must contain sufficient data to establish that the research has achieved reliable and significant results.
Technical Papers should present new methods and procedures for either research methodology or culture-related techniques.
The Letters to the Editor section is intended to provide a forum for discussion of aquacultural science emanating from material published in the journal.

Elsevier reserves the privilege of returning the author for revision accepted manuscripts and illustrations which are not in the proper form given in this guide.

Copyright
Submission of an article implies that the work described has not been published previously (except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture or academic thesis), that it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere, that its publication is approved by all Authors and tacitly or explicitly by the responsible authorities where the work was carried out, and that, if accepted, it will not be published elsewhere in the same form, in English or in any other language, without the written consent of the Publisher.

Upon acceptance of an article, authors will be asked to sign a 'Journal Publishing Agreement' (for more information on this and copyright see External link http://www.elsevier.com/copyright). Acceptance of the agreement will ensure the widest possible dissemination of information. An e-mail (or letter) will be sent to the corresponding author confirming receipt of the manuscript together with a 'Journal Publishing Agreement' form or a link to the online version of this agreement.
Subscribers may reproduce tables of contents or prepare lists of articles including abstracts for internal circulation within their institutions. Permission of the Publisher is required for resale or distribution outside the institution and for all other derivative works, including compilations and translations (please consult External link http://www.elsevier.com/permissions).
If excerpts from other copyrighted works are included, the author(s) must obtain written permission from the copyright owners and credit the source(s) in the article. Elsevier has preprinted forms for use by authors in these cases: please consult External link http://www.elsevier.com/permissions.

Funding body agreements and policies

Elsevier has established agreements and developed policies to allow authors who publish in Elsevier journals to comply with potential manuscript archiving requirements as specified as conditions of their grant awards. To learn more about existing agreements and policies please visit External link http://www.elsevier.com/fundingbodies

Online submission to the journal prior to acceptance
Submission to Aquaculture proceeds totally on-line by way of an electronic submission system. By accessing the website External link http://www.ees.elsevier.com/aqua you will be guided stepwise through the creation and uploading of the various files. When submitting a manuscript to Elsevier Editorial System, authors need to provide an electronic version of their manuscript. For editing purpose original source files, not PDF files, are required should the manuscript be accepted. The author should specify a category designation for the manuscript (full length article, review article, short communication, etc.), choose a set of classifications from the prescribed list provided online and select an editor. Once the uploading is complete, the system automatically generates an electronic FDF (can be read by PDF readers) proof, which is then used for reviewing. Authors may provide the names of three potential referees in their covering letter. Authors may send queries concerning the submission process, manuscript status, or journal procedures to the Editorial Office. They should avoid responding by messages received from the system using the 'Reply' button on their e-mail message; this will send the message to the system support and not to the editorial office, and will create unnecessary load of sorting out and forwarding. All correspondence, including the Editor's decision and request for revisions, will be by e-mail.

Papers for consideration should be submitted via the website mentioned above to the appropriate Section Editor:
Nutrition:
R. P. Wilson
Husbandry and Management:
B.Costa-Pierce
Physiology and Endocrinology:
E.M. Donaldson
Diseases:
D.J. Alderman
Genetics: G. Hulata

English language
Manuscripts should be written in English. Authors who are unsure of correct English usage should have their manuscript checked by someone proficient in the language. Manuscripts in which the English is difficult to understand may be returned to the author for revision before scientific review. Authors who require information about language editing and copy editing services pre- and post-submission please visit External link http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/authorshome.authors/languagepolishing or contact authorsupport@elsevier.com for more information. Please note Elsevier neither endorses nor takes responsibility for any products, goods or services offered by outside vendors through our services or in any advertising. For more information please refer to our Terms & Conditions External link http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/termsconditions.cws_home/termsconditions

Format requirements for accepted articles

General
1. Manuscripts should be typewritten, with numbered lines, with wide margins and double spacing throughout, i.e. also for abstracts, footnotes and references. Every page of the manuscript, including the title page, references, tables, etc. should be numbered in the upper right-hand corner. However, in the text no reference should be made to page numbers; if necessary, one may refer to sections. Avoid excessive usage of italics to emphasize part of the text.

2. Manuscripts in general should be organized in the following order:
Title (should be clear, descriptive and concise)
Name(s) of author(s)
Complete postal address(es) of affiliations
Full telephone and fax number and E-mail address of the corresponding author
Present address(es) of author(s) if applicable
Abstract
Keywords (indexing terms), normally 3-6 items.
Introduction
Material studied, area descriptions, methods, techniques
Results
Discussion
Conclusion
Acknowledgements and any additional information concerning research grants, etc.
References
Tables
Figure captions

3. In typing the manuscript, titles and subtitles should not be run within the text. They should be typed on a separate line, without indentation. Use bold face, lower-case letter type for titles; use non-bold, italic letter type for sub-titles. Divide your article into clearly defined and numbered sections. Subsections should be numbered 1.1 (then 1.1.1, 1.1.2, ?), 1.2, etc. (the abstract is not included in section numbering). Use this numbering also for internal cross-referencing: do not just refer to "the text".

4. Species names and other Latin terms should be typed in italics.

5. SI units should be used.

6. It is important that the file be saved in the native format of the word processor used. The text should be in single-column format. Keep the layout of the text as simple as possible. Most formatting codes will be removed and replaced on processing the article. In particular, do not use the word processor's options to justify text or to hyphenate words. However, do use bold face, italics, subscripts, superscripts etc. Do not embed "graphically designed" equations or tables, but prepare these using the word processor's facility. When preparing tables, if you are using a table grid, use only one grid for each individual table and not a grid for each row. If no grid is used, use tabs, not spaces, to align columns. The electronic text should be prepared in a way very similar to that of conventional manuscripts (see also the Guide to Publishing with Elsevier: External link http://www.elsevier.com/authors). Do not import the figures into the text file but, instead, indicate their approximate locations directly in the electronic text. See also the section on Preparation of electronic illustrations.

LaTeX documents
The article should preferably be written using Elsevier's document class "elsart", or alternatively the standard document class "article".
The Elsevier LaTeX package (including detailed instructions for LaTeX preparation) can be obtained from the Quickguide: External link http://www.elsevier.com/latex. It consists of the files: elsart.cls, guidelines for users of elsart, a template file for quick start, and the instruction booklet "Preparing articles with LaTeX".

Abstracts
The abstract should be clear, descriptive and not longer than 400 words. It should provide a very brief introduction to the problem and a statement about the methods used in the study. This should generally be followed by a brief summary of results, including numerical data (means and standard errors, for example). The abstract should end with an indication of the significance of the results. An abstract is often presented separate from the article, so it must be able to stand alone. References should therefore be avoided, but if essential, they must be cited in full, without reference to the reference list. Non-standard or uncommon abbreviations should be avoided, but if essential they must be defined at their first mention in the abstract itself.

Keywords
Immediately after the abstract, provide a maximum of 4-6 keywords, avoiding general and plural terms and multiple concepts (avoid, for example, "and", "of"). Be sparing with abbreviations: only abbreviations firmly established in the field may be eligible. These keywords will be used for indexing purposes.

Abbreviations
Define abbreviations that are not standard in this field at their first occurrence in the article: in the abstract but also in the main text after it. Ensure consistency of abbreviations throughout the article.

Tables
1. Authors should take notice of the limitations set by the size and lay-out of the journal. Large tables should be avoided. Reversing columns and rows will often reduce the dimensions a table.
2. If many data are to be presented, an attempt should be made to divide them over two or more tables.
3. Tables should be numbered according to their sequence in the text. The text should include references to all tables.
4. Each table should be typewritten on a separate page of the manuscript. Tables should never be included in the text.
5. Each table should have a brief and self-explanatory title.
6. Column headings should be brief, but sufficiently explanatory. Standard abbreviations of units of measurement should be added between parentheses.
7. Vertical lines should not be used to separate columns. Leave some extra space between the columns instead.
8. Any explanation essential to the understanding of the table should be given as a footnote at the bottom of the table.

Formulae Present simple formulae in the line of normal text where possible. In principle, variables are to be presented in italics. Use the solidus (/) instead of a horizontal line, e.g., X/Y
Powers of e are often more conveniently denoted by exp. Number consecutively any equations that have to be displayed separate from the text (if referred to explicitly in the text). Give the meaning of all symbols immediately after the equation in which they are first used. In chemical formulae, valence of ions should be given as, e.g. Ca2+ and not Ca++. Isotope numbers should precede the symbols, e.g., 18O. The repeated writing of chemical formulae in the text is to be avoided where reasonably possible; instead, the name of the compound should be given in full. Exceptions may be made in the case of a very long name occurring very frequently or in the case of a compound being described as the end product of a gravimetric determination (e.g., phosphate as P2O5).

Footnotes
Footnotes should be used sparingly. Number them consecutively throughout the article, using superscript Arabic numbers. Many word processors build footnotes into the text, and this feature may be used. Should this not be the case, indicate the position of footnotes in the text and present the footnotes themselves on a separate sheet at the end of the article. Do not include footnotes in the Reference list.

Preparation of electronic illustrations

General

  1. Make sure you use uniform lettering and sizing of your original artwork.
  2. Save text in illustrations as "graphics" or enclose the font.
  3. Only use the following fonts in your illustrations: Arial, Courier, Helvetica, Times, Symbol.
  4. Number the illustrations according to their sequence in the text.
  5. Use a logical naming convention for your artwork files.
  6. Provide all illustrations as separate files.
  7. Provide captions to illustrations separately.
  8. Produce images near to the desired size of the printed version.

A detailed guide on electronic artwork is available on our website: External link http://www.elsevier.com/artworkinstructions. Some excerpts from the detailed information are given here.

Formats
Regardless of the application used, when your electronic artwork is finalised, please "save as" or convert the images to one of the following formats (note the resolution requirements for line drawings, halftones, and line/halftone combinations given below):

EPS: Vector drawings. Embed the font or save the text as "graphics".
TIFF: Colour or greyscale photographs (halftones): always use a minimum of 300 dpi.
TIFF: Bitmapped line drawings: use a minimum of 1000 dpi.
TIFF: Combinations bitmapped line/half-tone (colour or greyscale): a minimum of 500 dpi is required.
DOC, XLS or PPT: If your electronic artwork is created in any of these Microsoft Office applications please supply "as is".

Please do not:

  1. embed graphics in your word processor (spreadsheet, presentation) document;
  2. supply files that are optimised for screen use (like GIF, BMP, PICT, WPG); the resolution is too low;
  3. supply files that are too low in resolution;
  4. submit graphics that are disproportionately large for the content.


Captions
Ensure that each illustration has a caption. Supply captions separately, not attached to the figure. A caption should comprise a brief title (not on the figure itself) and a description of the illustration. Keep text in the illustrations themselves to a minimum but explain all symbols and abbreviations used.

Line drawings
The lettering and symbols, as well as other details, should have proportionate dimensions, so as not to become illegible or unclear after possible reduction; in general, the figures should be designed for a reduction factor of two to three. The degree of reduction will be determined by the Publisher. Illustrations will not be enlarged. Consider the page format of the journal when designing the illustrations. Do not use any type of shading on computer-generated illustrations.

Photographs (halftones)
Remove non-essential areas of a photograph. Do not mount photographs unless they form part of a composite figure (plate). Where necessary, insert a scale bar in the illustration (not below it), as opposed to giving a magnification factor in the caption.

Colour illustrations
Please make sure that artwork files are in an acceptable format (TIFF, EPS or MS Office files) and with the correct resolution. If, together with your accepted article, you submit usable colour figures, then Elsevier will ensure, at no additional charge that these figures will appear in colour on the Web (e.g., ScienceDirect and other sites) regardless of whether or not these illustrations are reproduced in colour in the printed version. For colour reproduction in print, you will receive information regarding the costs from Elsevier after receipt of your accepted article. Please indicate your preference for colour in print or on the Web only. For further information on the preparation of electronic artwork, please see External link http://www.elsevier.com/artworkinstructions.

Please note: Because of technical complications which can arise by converting colour figures to "grey scale" (for the printed version should you not opt for colour in print) please submit in addition usable black and white versions of all the colour illustrations. As only one figure caption may be used for both colour and black and white versions of figures, please ensure that the figure captions are meaningful for both versions, if applicable.

References
1. All publications cited in the text should be presented in a list of references following the text of the manuscript. The manuscript should be carefully checked to ensure that the spelling of author's names and dates are exactly the same in the text as in the reference list.
2. In the text refer to the author's name (without initial) and year of publication, followed - if necessary - by a short reference to appropriate pages. Examples: "Since Peterson (1993) has shown that..." "This is in agreement with results obtained later (Kramer, 1994, pp. 12-16)".
3. If reference is made in the text to a publication written by more than two authors the name of the first author should be used followed by "et al.". This indication, however, should never be used in the list of references. In this list names of first author and all co-authors should be mentioned.
4. References cited together in the text should be arranged chronologically. The list of references should be arranged alphabetically by authors' names, and chronologically per author. If an author's name in the list is also mentioned with co-authors the following order should be used: publications of the single author, arranged according to publication dates - publications of the same author with one co-author - publications of the author with more than one co-author. Publications by the same author(s) in the same year should be listed as 1994a, 1994b, etc.
5. Use the following system for arranging your references:
a. For periodicals
Dame, R., Libes, S., 1993. Oyster reefs and nutrient retention in tidal creeks. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 171, 251-258.
b. For edited symposia, special issues, etc. published in a periodical
Benzie, J.A.H., Ballment, E., Frusher, S., 1993. Genetic structure of Penaeus monodon in Australia: concordant results from mtDNA and allozymes. In: Gall, G.A.E., Chen, H. (Eds.), Genetics in Aquaculture IV. Proceedings of the Fourth International Symposium, 29 April-3 May 1991, Wuhan, China. Aquaculture 111, 89-93.
c. For books
Gaugh, Jr., H.G., 1992. Statistical Analysis of Regional Yield Trials. Elsevier, Amsterdam, 278 pp.
d. For multi-author books
Shigueno, K., 1992. Shrimp culture industry in Japan. In: Fast, A.W., Lester, L.J. (Eds.), Marine Shrimp Culture: Principles and Practices. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp. 641-652.
6. Titles of periodicals mentioned in the list of references should be abbreviated following ISO 4 standard. The ISSN word abbreviations, for example, can be found at External link http://www.issn.org/Istwa.html.
7. In the case of publications in any language other than English, the original title is to be retained. However, the titles of publications in non-Latin alphabets should be transliterated, and a notation such as "(in Russian)" or "(in Greek, with English abstract)" should be added.
8. Papers accepted for publication but not yet published should be referred to as "in press".
9. References concerning unpublished data and "personal communications" should not be cited in the reference list but may be mentioned in the text.

Use of the Digital Object Identifier
The digital object identifier (DOI) may be used to cite and link to electronic documents. The DOI consists of a unique alpha-numeric character string which is assigned to a document by the publisher upon the initial electronic publication. The assigned DOI never changes. Therefore, it is an ideal medium for citing a document, particularly "Articles in press" because they have not yet received their full bibliographic information. The correct format for citing a DOI is shown as follows (example taken from a document in the journal Physics Letters B):
doi:10.1016/j.physletb.2003.10.071
When you use the DOI to create URL hyperlinks to documents on the web, they are guaranteed never to change. However, please check the DOI very carefully as an error in a letter or number will result in a dead link.

GenBank/DNA sequence linking

DNA sequences and GenBank Accession numbers. Many Elsevier journals cite "gene accession numbers" in their running text and footnotes. Gene accession numbers refer to genes or DNA sequences about which further information can be found in the databases at the National Center for Biotechnical Information (NCBI) at the National Library of Medicine.
Authors are encouraged to check accession numbers used very carefully. An error in a letter or number can result in a dead link. Note that in the final version of the electronic copy, the accession number text will be linked to the appropriate source in the NCBI databases enabling readers to go directly to that source from the article.

Example 1: "GenBank accession nos. AI631510, AI631511, AI632198, and BF223228), a B-cell tumor from a chronic lymphatic leukemia (GenBank accession no. BE675048), and a T-cell lymphoma (GenBank accession no. AA361117)".

Authors are encouraged to check accession numbers used very carefully. An error in a letter or number can result in a dead link.

In the final version of the printed article, the accession number text will not appear bold or underlined (see Example 2 below).

Example 2: "GenBank accession nos. AI631510, AI631511, AI632198, and BF223228), a B-cell tumor from a chronic lymphatic leukemia (GenBank accession no. BE675048), and a T-cell lymphoma (GenBank accession no. AA361117)".

In the final version of the electronic copy, the accession number text will be linked to the appropriate source in the NCBI databases enabling readers to go directly to that source from the article (see Example 3 below).

Example 3: "GenBank accession nos. AI631510, AI631511, AI632198, and BF223228), a B-cell tumor from a chronic lymphatic leukemia (GenBank accession no. BE675048), and a T-cell lymphoma (GenBank accession no. AA361117)".

Nomenclature

1. Authors and editors are, by general agreement, obliged to accept the rules governing biological nomenclature, as laid down in the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature, the International Code of Nomenclature of Bacteria, and the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature.
2. All biotica (crops, plants, insects, birds, mammals, etc.) should be identified by their scientific names when the English term is first used, with the exception of common domestic animals.
3. All biocides and other organic compounds must be identified by their Geneva names when first used in the text. Active ingredients of all formulations should be likewise identified.
4. For chemical nomenclature, the conventions of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry and the official recommendations of the IUPAC IUB Combined Commission on Biochemical Nomenclature should be followed.

Supplementary data

Preparation of supplementary data. Elsevier accepts electronic supplementary material to support and enhance your scientific research. Supplementary files offer the author additional possibilities to publish supporting applications, movies, animation sequences, high-resolution images, background datasets, sound clips and more. Supplementary files supplied will be published online alongside the electronic version of your article in Elsevier Web products, including ScienceDirect: External link http://www.sciencedirect.com. In order to ensure that your submitted material is directly usable, please ensure that data is provided in one of our recommended file formats. Authors should submit the material in electronic format together with the article and supply a concise and descriptive caption for each file. For more detailed instructions please visit our artwork instruction pages at External link http://www.elsevier.com/artworkinstructions.

After acceptance

Proofs
One set of page proofs in PDF format will be sent by e-mail to the corresponding author (if we do not have an e-mail address then paper proofs will be sent by post). Elsevier now sends PDF proofs which can be annotated; for this you will need to download Adobe Reader version 7 available free from External link http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html. Instructions on how to annotate PDF files will accompany the proofs. The exact system requirements are given at the Adobe site: External link http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/acrrsystemreqs.html#70win.

If you do not wish to use the PDF annotations function, you may list the corrections (including replies to the Query Form) and return to Elsevier in an e-mail. Please list your corrections quoting line number. If, for any reason, this is not possible, then mark the corrections and any other comments (including replies to the Query Form) on a printout of your proof and return by fax, or scan the pages and e-mail, or by post.

Please use this proof only for checking the typesetting, editing, completeness and correctness of the text, tables and figures. Significant changes to the article as accepted for publication will only be considered at this stage with permission from the Editor. We will do everything possible to get your article published quickly and accurately. Therefore, it is important to ensure that all of your corrections are sent back to us in one communication: please check carefully before replying, as inclusion of any subsequent corrections cannot be guaranteed. Proofreading is solely your responsibility. Note that Elsevier may proceed with the publication of your article if no response is received.

Online Publication
Your article will appear on Elsevier's online journal database ScienceDirect as an "Article in Press" within approximately 4-6 weeks of acceptance. Articles in Press for this journal can be viewed at External link http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/00448486. An Article in Press may be cited prior to its publication by means of its unique digital object identifier (DOI) number, which does not change throughout the publication process.

Reprints
The corresponding author, at no cost, will be provided with a PDF file of the article via e-mail or, alternatively, 25 free paper offprints. The PDF file is a watermarked version of the published article and includes a cover sheet with the journal cover image and a disclaimer outlining the terms and conditions of use. Additional paper offprints can be ordered by the authors. An order form with prices will be sent to the corresponding author.

Author's Discount
There is a 30% discount on all Elsevier book publications. An order form will be sent together with the proofs.

Author Services
For enquiries relating to the submission of articles (including electronic submission where available) please visit External link http://www.elsevier.com/authors. You can track your accepted article by visiting External link http://www.elsevier.com/trackarticle. The Elsevier Web page also provides the facility to set up e-mail alerts to inform you of when an article's status has changed, as well as detailed artwork guidelines, copyright information, frequently asked questions, and more. Contact details for questions arising after acceptance of an article, especially those relating to proofs, are provided when an article is accepted for publication.

Aquaculture has no page charges.
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